Although south Florida is hardly a hotbed of alternative-fuel vehicles, the largest public network of electric vehicle charging stations is based in Miami Beach. Car Charging Group, a publicly traded company founded in 2009, earned the mantle after acquiring three other companies this year. It now has more than 1,100 “charging points” around the country.

Car Charging doesn’t build the charging stations or supply the electricity. Instead, it signs contracts with property owners, such as malls and apartment complexes, to place charging stations in their parking lots. It then shares the revenue from electric vehicle “fill-ups” with the property owner. It has contracts with more than 85 firms, including Simon Properties and Walgreens.

In 2012, Car Charging had revenue of $258,000 and a loss of $5.3 million. Currently, it’s trying to line up other high-traffic locations, setting itself up for when there are more electric cars on the road than the 54,000 that a 2012 “CBS News” report estimated.